REHAU Awadukt Thermo in 2009 Grand Design Awards

REHAU's Awadukt Thermo ground - air heat exchanger system shortlisted for a prestigious 2009 Grand Design Award in the 'Innovative Building Products' category.

Awadukt Thermo, which was developed by polymer specialists REHAU in Germany, is a ground - air heat exchanger system which delivers a constant supply of fresh, filtered ventilation air into a building - either pre-warmed by up to 9C in winter or pre-cooled by as much as 14C in summer.

It relies on the fact that at just 1.5m below ground, the earth remains at a fairly constant 8 - 12C all year round.

For a domestic application, a 40m length of pipework is often sufficient to meet the air flow requirements and is ideally combined with a whole house heat recovery ventilation system (MVHR) for best results.

The Awadukt Thermo system has significant advantages over other pipes largely due to its polymer construction.

For example, the polypropylene used in the pipework has been optimised to ensure that maximum heat transfer occurs between the ground and the air, and a silver antimicrobial layer incorporated into the inside of the pipework prevents microbial growth, which could potentially be a problem for traditional pipe materials.

It is being used extensively in the new build, and particularly the self-build home sector, and is rapidly becoming the system of choice in school construction.

In terms of renewable energy performance, it delivers a COP (Coefficient of Performance) of typically around 50 compared with 3 or 4 achieved by a ground source heat pump.

Although Awadukt Thermo didn't ultimately win the award when the results were announced earlier this month, REHAU believes that just to be shortlisted by the influential team of judges was a very significant achievement.

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